The Jungle Book

After last week’s stellar opening, it was clear that The Jungle Book was going to hold on to the number one spot at the box office this weekend. However, it wasn’t clear that it would spell complete and total doom for the weekend’s other new release, The Huntsman: Winter’s War, which debuted with very disappointing numbers in second place.

At the Tribeca Film Festival just last night, Alfonso Cuarón confessed that he laments the decision from his longtime friend and frequent collaborator, master cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, to transition from film to digital photography...

The Jungle Book was destined to take the number one spot at the box office this weekend. However, the early estimates were off by, oh, $20 million or so. Jon Favreau’s reimagining of this beloved story exceeded all financial expectations. Buoyed by strong reviews and positive word of mouth, the film had the second biggest April opening of all time, topped only by last year’s Furious 7.

Kids grow up so fast these days. They have to if they’re going to watch the movies Hollywood makes for them.

Disney must feel pretty confident about The Jungle Book — Jon Favreau’s live-action / CGI retelling hits theaters on April 15, but early word-of-mouth is largely positive. And given Disney’s recent proven track record with live-action remakes of their popular classics, it sure does seem like The Jungle Book is on track to perform well at the box office. Just how well remains to be seen, but the studio is already developing a sequel with Favreau in talks to return.

In one of The Jungle Book’s more inspired bits of casting, Scarlett Johansson voices the python Kaa, a character typically portrayed as male. Johansson's distinctive voice is perfect for the hypnotic snake, who lulls Mowgli into a precarious sense of ease as she recounts his origin story in this new IMAX trailer for Jon Favreau's re-telling of the classic tale.

Disney has released two new clips from The Jungle Book — one that will make you laugh as you reach for a snack, and another that will make you feel…some things. Let’s just get the emotional part of this out of the way up front so we can end on a more positive note, okay? Unless you feel particularly emotional about food, and in that case, feel free to reverse your viewing order.

The CGI in Jon Favreau’s adaptation of The Jungle Book looks incredible — though it is a little strange to see the animals actually speak, as you can in the first clip from Disney’s epic new adventure. The sneak peek introduces us to the fearsome and ferocious tiger Shere Khan, voiced by Idris Elba, and while it’ll take some adjusting to hear these famous voices coming out of the mouths of gorgeous animals, Elba is inarguably the perfect voice for Khan.

Disney’s live-action update of The Jungle Book looks absolutely gorgeous, and if nothing else, the trailers for Jon Favreau’s new adaptation of the beloved classic promises some incredible CGI — perhaps even better than Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. We’ll have to wait until next month to be certain, but until then, Disney has released some pretty cool new photos featuring the voice cast posing alongside their respective CG animal characters.

Tickets for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will be available on February 29 (that’s tomorrow, FYI), with the movie hitting theaters about a month later, on March 25. Disney is banking on similarly huge business for Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book, as the studio has officially launched ticket pre-sales as of today, even though the film doesn’t hit theaters for another two months. If that isn’t enough to get your attention, then maybe this new TV spot will.